On June 10 of 2020,Alex Kidd in Miracle World DXwas announced. The world was stunned as the last entry, a platformer calledAlex Kidd in Miracle World, was released in 1986. It was originally Sega’s response to theSuper Marioseries and it was a serious one, met with critical acclaim and fan delight. Sega eventually decided to give its time to theSonicfranchise, but it took the company 34 years to realize that it had likely left some magic on the table.
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For a variety of reasons, some games shine but never get another turn in the spotlight. To see platform games cut down when they still have so much to offer is cruel to fans of the genre. This list is a call to action for developers and gamers to work together and resuscitate titles that never really died because they didn’t get another chance to live. Some call it a reboot, but perhaps the better term is a refresh.
10Limbo
Limbocame onto the scene challenging everything. Game devices, likeGame Boy Color, have been adding color, butLimboreversed course with black, white, and greyscale shading. Additionally, the character and his enemies were faceless, the music was full of rolling echoes, and the camera would blur the focus to indicate depth.
Independent studio Playdead decided to take their first global success and move on to a different title,Inside. But whileInsideborrowed from a handful of elements ofLimbo, it did not capture the layered and artistic brilliance of this first masterpiece.
9Space Panic / Apple Panic
Metacritic scores often miss the mark on great platform games, but this game comes from an era where Metacritic wasn’t even around to judge it. Considered by many to be the very first platformer of all time,Space Panicwas better known by its unauthorized copy,Apple Panic.
While all modern platforms can credit this title with their origins, there are a few elements that would do well among the current gaming generation.Apple Panicdid not require unrealistic jumping capabilities and not all the moves had to be going horizontally or upwards. The challenge of losing elevation has rarely been explored since.
8Tearaway
TearawayandTearaway Unfoldedare only forgotten by those who never got a chance to play the titles. The latter is still considered one of thebest games to ever be released on PlayStation Plus. So why has the world not seen another entry since 2015?
The marketing team for Sony on theTearawayseries either made a very bad decision or had some very bad luck. Commercial failure was an inevitability whenTearaway Unfoldeddebuted the same week asMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain,Until Dawn,Super Mario Maker, andMad Max.
7Beat Sneak Bandit
There are very few reviews on Metacritic for Beat Sneak Bandit, but all of them are positive, netting a very rare 90+ overall score for this little-known title. In 2012, this game set a unique standard with the reliance of gameplay on music. Companies likeNintendo understand that a game should have good music, but even these giants hesitate to make it critical to success.
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So why has this game not taken off while other titles have? Sadly, the game is restricted to the iOS platform, so the vast majority of gamers will never have any idea what platforming goodness they are missing out on.
6Pitfall!
Early generation gamers probably recognize this entry as the very first console platformer they played.Pitfall!was the first one to gain widespread success after the production of the Atari 2600.
Players haven’t forgotten this title, so why is it on this list? Sadly, Activision has repurposed thePitfall!franchise and moved it from platformer to endless runner. It’s alright for games tochange, just askGod of War, but this switch in the genre came with a real loss of identity for the brand.
5Cordy
Cordywas an instant success of iOS and Android platforms when it launched in 2011. The fun and smooth-playing platformer was such a smash hit that before the end of the next year,Cordy SkyandCordy 2also launched with reviews stating that they were just as charming as the original.
But as of 2020, theCordyseries finds itself absentamong the best Free-To-Play gamesavailable. GSN (Game Show Network) Games acquired SilverTree Media and it’s assumed that the previous developers have moved away from this brilliant platformer and are currently working on games more consistent with the vision of the new ownership.
4Pac-Land
It’s tough for even the most dedicated ofPac-Mantriviafans to recall a time when Namco took a step away from the 2D arcade pellet-eater and tried their hand in platforming. The game was good enough and moved the needle when it came to side-scrolling action.
ButPac-Landneeds a reboot because of how much it would mean to the personalities involved. Mario and Sonic, through modernization on their platformers, gained personalities and relationships, which created a more immersive world. Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Clyde, and Sue have a potential for individual personality traits and player connection that is, as of yet, unrealized.
3Doodle Jump
Unlike a few of the other entries on this list that were lost because they got stuck on mobile devices,Doodle Jumpmade the jump onto consoles and handheld devices like the Xbox 360 Kinect and Nintendo 3DS.
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So why has this 2009 game not received a serious sequel or reboot yet? It’s possible that Lima Sky likes it to just be an underground cult classic. The studio partnered with Skillz in 2016 to add a tournament mode. Still, outsiders hope that the title will get the opportunity to be remembered by general audiences once again.
2Knytt
Swedish freeware developer Nifflas (birthname Nicklas Nygren) was responsible for the development of several adorable platformers, but perhaps none were as beloved by his fans as much as the games of theKnyttseries.
Knytt received four major installments:Knytt,Knytt Stories,Knytt Experiment, andKnytt Underground. Sadly, after 2013, Nifflas pursued other projects (his latest was 2017’sUurnog) but fans of the easy, simple, clean, and funKnyttare hopeful that another reboot is on the horizon.
1Another World
PC gamers who did not own consoles rememberAnother Worldas perhaps the first platformer they were introduced to. The scenery was beautiful and while the gameplay itself was nothing groundbreaking, its story-driven approach was unique for the genre.
Another Worldisn’t considereda high-grossing game that never got a sequelbecause it technically did get a follow-up withHeart of the Alien. It was only released in North America and for the Sega CD system. Leaving its PC gamers behind, the sequel, predictably, failed miserably. Fans can still hope thatAnother Worldwill get an actual opportunity to make a modern impact.
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